The Prince Of Seidonku
by melli-elle
Summary: Kunimitsu, or Tezuka to friends, is being forced to marry the princess of the neighbouring kingdom Fudomlin in order to save Seidonku against the evil king of Satrudolph, Mizuki. How will he get out of it? Read and review to find out! :
1. Allegiances

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis, if I did, I wouldn't really be writing fan fiction on here, now would I?

Chapter 1: Alliances

Kunimitsu, or as his friends knew him, Tezuka, hated being a prince. It was too much effort, really. He had to make sure his kingdom was well protected, especially when his father, King Nanjiroh, was too lazy to take care of himself. His younger brother, Ryoma, wasn't as lazy as their father, but he didn't care as much as Tezuka did, which made him less willing to help run the country, Seidonku.

And right now it was in desperate need of looking after. They were at war against the kingdom that sat across Large Lake, Satrudolph. The new king, King Mizuki, wasn't very well liked, even by his own people. But no one cared about that. Well, no one except Tezuka. So Tezuka took it on himself to go to war against Satrudolph. Unfortunately, neither of Seidonku's neighbours wanted to help them in their fight. There were six kingdoms all together, spread around across the lake, only separated on the northern side by the Rokanan Forest, who didn't belong to anyone, because it was said to be haunted. On one side of the forest sat Satrudolph, while on the other sat the kingdom of Rikinlai. Next to Rikinlai sat Hiyonten, and then next to that sat Seidonku. On the other side of Seidonku sat Fudomlin, and then between Fudomlin and Satrudolph sat Yamakibun. The only kingdom who even thought about helping Seidonku in their ploy against Satrudolph were Fudomlin. And it came at a price.

Tezuka would have to marry the king's younger sister.

King Tachibana was only slightly older then Tezuka, having become a king at a young age, and his younger sister, Princess Ann, was his pride and joy. Nothing but the best for his sister, and Tachibana considered Tezuka the best. Even though he wasn't king yet, he ruled in his father's place, and Seidonku prospered.

That was why King Mizuki wanted it for himself.

"You're highness?" came a voice, and Tezuka turned around in his chair, to find his head guard, Shuichiro Oishi, standing in the doorway, watching him.

"Oishi, what is it?" he asked, a sigh escaping his lips.

"King Tachibana and Princess Ann have arrived," he announced solemnly. He knew how much his friend hated the idea of an arranged marriage, but Tezuka had never really been fond of anyone, so it didn't surprise him that the prince agreed to it so readily.

"Very well, Oishi. Send them in," he said, turning back to the letter he was writing to his cousin.

Moments passed before another knock was heard on the door. This time, Tezuka stood, waiting for the visitors, as Oishi opened the door yet again.

"Announcing King Tachibana of Fudomlin, and his sister, Princess Ann," he said courtly, as the two walked into the room. The male looked around the study with a curios eye, his dark hair sitting almost roughly on his head. His smile seemed genuine, as it always had to Tezuka every time the two had met.

Next to him stood a small girl, the smile on her face seemingly plastered there. Her eyes were warm, but seemed to look straight through Tezuka as she watched him. He brown hair fell slightly to her white clad shoulders, and her slim frame gave much to the imagination.

But to his own dismay, it did nothing for Tezuka's. Even this beautiful girl could not sway his cold heart.

"Your majesty," Tezuka said, bowing slightly. Tachibana returned the bow, before grasping his old friend in a hug.

"Too long has it been, Tezuka," he said, pulling away, and Tezuka nodded. It had been too long.

Tezuka ordered Oishi to send up a servant with food, before offering seats to both the king and the princess.

"Now, about Satrudolph..." started Tezuka, and Tachibana sighed.

"Tezuka, you know better than anyone of Fudomlin's problems with Yamakibun," Tachibana said with a sigh. "I'm just not sure we can spare the men to help fight against Satrudolph aswell as Yamakibun."

"But Hiyonten is refusing to help. That king of theirs is much to wound up in himself to care about other's well being. And Rikinlai is under threat from Satrudolph themselves, being closer to them than the rest of us."

"I understand, Prince Tezuka. And I've said it before; the only way I can see how we can help you is if we are given proof of your alliance."

Tezuka sighed, his eyes turning back to the princess. All his life, he'd had to give up his own comforts to allow for his father's kingdom to prosper. Why was now any different? It wasn't like he loved another. The only people in the world that he even remotely loved were his brother, his father and Oishi, and only because they were the closest to him, Oishi being like a brother himself.

Finally reaching his decision, Tezuka nodded, standing.

"You've said what you want," Tezuka said aloud, and Tachibana nodded. "Do you agree, your highness?" he asked, turning to the princess. The young girl bit her bottom lip in such an endearing way that Tezuka almost had to chuckle, before slowly nodding her head. Tezuka sighed, before nodding.

"It is done then."

* * *

Tachibana and his sister left not long after, Princess Ann falling behind her brother in what looked to be a slump. Tezuka sighed, falling back into his chair. This wasn't what he wanted. Surely there had to be some other way to get Satrudolph to stop this silly fighting.

"Your highness?" came a voice, and Tezuka turned around to find Oishi in the doorway.

"Oishi. They are safely housed?"

"Of course. In the Western rooms."

"Thank you. You may retire," he said, turning back to his desk. When he realised his head guard was not leaving, he turned around to see him watching him. "Oishi?"

"Must you marry her?" his guard asked, looking at Tezuka with such a sorrowful look.

"You know I must, Oishi. It is what's best for the land."

"But you do not love her."

"Nor do I love anyone else. Not in the way you say, anyway. I do not know what love is; yet I know that when I look at the princess, all I feel is brotherly affection like I feel for you and Ryoma."

Oishi nodded, secretly pleased that his master would refer to him on the same line as the younger prince.

"Your highness... If there was another way to secure the war against Satrudolph..."

"There isn't, Oishi."

"But if there was?"

Tezuka sighed, turning back to the letter to his cousin, the king of Rikinlai. Even he would not help them.

"I still need a good alliance with Fudomlin, Oishi," he said, not looking back at his guard.

"What if you could have both?"

Tezuka stood, looking his guard in the eyes.

"Enough. Your romantic notions are fine for stable boys and kitchen girls, and even knights such as yourself. Kings do not marry for love. We marry for allies. It's the way it is."

"Your cousin didn't..." Oishi hissed under his breath, causing Tezuka to slap him. Oishi recoiled, looking his prince in the eye.

"Don't you dare speak of my cousin like that! Yes, he married for love, and that's exactly why Satrudolph is going after him aswell as us!" Tezuka watched as his guard raised a hand to his face, a red mark growing there. Tezuka turned away, not wanting to look at his guard. "I apologise. Please leave," he muttered under his breath, and didn't look up as the door finally closed. He sighed. He hated it when he got mad. It was something that very rarely happened, especially when it came to his guards and servants. The people he most often got mad at were his father and brother, and even that was a rare occasion.

But his cousin was a sore subject. His cousin had married the only child of the previous King of Rikinlai, much to the disgust of everyone, including his own father, and King Nanjiroh. Everyone had opposed the marriage for one simple reason.

Seiichi Yukimura was a man.

Yukimura was the eldest son of the old king of Rikinlai. Tezuka's cousin, Prince Genichirou Sanada, had journeyed to Rikinlai on a peace mission between Seidonku and Rikinlai, because of the problems with Satrudolph. It had worked; a little too well. Sanada fell in love with Yukimura, and his father allowed them to marry, even though they were both male. It was common place in these times, though still frowned upon.

Tezuka didn't care. Tezuka was happy his cousin had found happiness, even if it was far away. The problem was, when Sanada became king (Yukimura wasn't king material, everyone called him the 'queen') he tended to forget his Seidonku heritage. He kept his word, keeping the alliance with Seidonku, but it put a toll on him to choose between his family and the man he loved.

Tezuka sighed. It would be easier if Sanada could send troops of his own to help them, but that would put Rikinlai in trouble. Why did it have to be so hard?

* * *

Oishi walked away from Tezuka's room. There had to be something he could do for his long time friend. Something more than just sit there and watch him give his happiness away. But who could he turn to? His knights would be no help; they were good men, but they could not help him in matters concerning the kingdom...

Then it hit him.

The king's chief advisor could help them. If anyone knew a way around the problem, it would definitely be Sadaharu Inui. He was smart, initiative, and one of the most trusted people in the kingdom. He made his way down to the library, where he was sure to find the advisor in one of his back rooms, working on some new concoction of his.

The doors to the library swung open easily, and Oishi made his way through the lines of books. The Seidonku Crown Library was one of the best libraries in the world, and scholars came from all over to read there. It was often filled with scholars learning new things, but with the snow from the winter closing the path towards Hiyonten, less people have been coming over.

"Mr. Oishi?" came a cold voice, and Oishi turned to see the advisor standing there. He was tall; taller than the prince himself, and his face was almost colder then the prince's. He wore square spectacles, mirrored lenses so people couldn't see the emotion in his bright green eyes. His dark hair was always messy, not caring what others thought of him, and he always watched you like he could read even your deepest darkest secrets.

"Inui! Can I talk to you?" Oishi asked.

"Of course. What is it you had in mind?" Inui replied, leading the way back to his study, situated in the back of library. As they entered, Oishi sat down in a comfy chair, while Inui sat in his normal stool, looking over his books.

"It's about the prince. You've heard, no doubt, about the arranged marriage..."

"Between him and Princess Ann, yes, I've heard," Inui informed him, shuffling through the papers.

"Then have you heard of the reluctance of both sides?" Oishi tried again, and Inui nodded his head.

"I am aware of his highness' reluctance, but it is his decision. His father would not force it upon him."

"But he's only doing this to save Seidonku!"

Inui sighed, standing, before heading to a shelf, and pulling down a book. He handed it to Oishi, who took it with a questioning glance. "You want to find a way to save Seidonku without forcing His highness to marry the princess, yes?"

Oishi nodded.

"This is the answer. This book records my time in the Rokanan forest. You will find what you need in there."

"But..."

Inui shook his head. "This is the only way."

* * *

"Wow, Inui really has been everywhere!" shouted an amazed boy sitting across the table from Oishi. Oishi sat in his quarters with his three knights, Takeshi Momoshiro, Takashi Kawamura, and Choutarou Ootori. Together they were reading over Inui's account of the Rokanan forest.

"But I still don't see what this has to do with us..." asked the silver haired Ootori. He was the youngest of the four, and not the best knight. But Oishi had trained with all three of them since they were young, and they were as close as four friends could get.

"Isn't it obvious, Ootori? We need to go to the Rokanan forest to find something!" yelled the spiky haired man next to him. The energetic yet kind Takeshi Momoshiro, or Momo to friends, jumped up and down in his seat. "It's been forever since we went on a mission!"

"Calm down, Momo. We don't even know why Inui gave us the book yet," said the fourth and last knight of the group, the brown haired Takashi, or Taka as he was known to friends.

"O.k., guys, calm down. Let's continue reading, ok?" Oishi asked, and the other three nodded. Oishi turned the page, to find the next page had a title.

_The Lost Princess_

"The lost princess?" asked Ootori, looking down at the page.

"Who's that?" asked Momo.

"I've never heard of her," replied Taka, as Oishi began to read again

_Tuesday, 21st day of my journey from Rikinlai to Rokanan Forest_

_Saeki seems to believe that there's a lost princess in the village on the edge of the forest, before the mountain. He told me the story of how the princess' great great grandfather was the king of Satrudolph, from the old Fuji clan. Apparently, the people in the village and those in the surrounding forest are all from either Satrudolph or Rikinlai, and the ones from Satrudolph are all part of the royal line. But then Mizuki's ancestor killed the king, and his descendants fled to the forest. Most were killed, or died off over the years. But when Mizuki's father found out that there were still some living in the forest, he sent out his son to kill him. But Mizuki didn't kill him. I'm not sure of exactly what happened, because Saeki was young at the time, and doesn't remember all the details. But from what I could gather, Mizuki would kill the brother and sister. He captured the brother, and sealed the sister in the tower at the village, vowing that no one could capture her._

_I checked it out. It is quite impossible that the spell cannot be broken. There is always an exception to every spell. I will look into it further, maybe speak to Saeki about it more..._

"That's it?!" asked Momo, grabbing the book from Oishi's hand.

"After that, it tells of the journey out of the Rokanan forest," Oishi replied, carefully taking the book back from Momo's hand.

"I don't get it," said Taka, scratching his head. "How is that supposed save Seidonku from Satrudolph?"

Momo promptly hit him on the head. "That's obvious! It's... well, it's..."

"Because the princess and her brother are the rightful rulers of Satrudolph," explained Ootori, and the other two looked at him surprised.

"Wow, Ootori, you're smart," muttered Momo, and Taka nodded his agreement. Ootori blushed, causing Oishi to chuckle at his friends.

"But wait, doesn't that mean we have to go find the lost princess?" asked Momo, and Oishi nodded.

"We should probably find this Saeki person, in the Rokanan forest. He seems to know a lot," replied Oishi, and the others nodded.

"So we have to go to the Rokanan forest?" asked Ootori, his voice shaking. The rumours about the Rokanan forest were not pretty.

"Don't worry, Ootori," said Momo, placing a calming hand on his friend's shoulder. "We'll protect you!"

"Some how that doesn't comfort me..." Ootori muttered, not looking up into Momo's face.

"I'm not asking you all to come," reminded Oishi. "I'll be going, it's your choice to come with me."

"I have to come," replied Momo, smiling. "You'd get lost without me."

"More like he'll get lost with you," Taka muttered, causing Momo to glare at him. "I'll come, to keep Momo in line. Besides, there's absolutely no way I'm being left behind."

They turned to Ootori, who seemed to have found a fascination with the table.

"You don't have to, Ootori," Oishi said again, and Ootori looked up at him, before turning to the other two.

"No way am I being left here. Besides, whose gonna get you through Hiyonten otherwise?"

"I guess we're just lucky you were born there, then," muttered Momo, rolling his eyes at Taka, who chuckled. Ootori turned to glare at them, as Oishi laughed.

"Alright then, let's get going!"

* * *

AN: Well, there you go! The first chapter of my first POT story! I keep starting to write them, but this is the first one I've actually, you know, gotten anywhere with. Also it's the first one the plot is actually forming in my head, so it will be long! Yay! Please R&R? I'll be your friend!


	2. Decisions

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince Of Tennis... I wish I did:)

Chapter 2: Decisions

Tezuka sat in his throne, after listening to the problems of his subjects. He always listened properly to their complaints, and with Satrudolph attacking constantly from the lake, there were a lot of them. He sighed, resting his head against the cushioned back. Two months... two months he had until his marriage with Princess Ann.

Two months wasn't long enough.

"Your highness?" came a cold voice that Tezuka recognised as the king's advisor.

"Mr. Inui. What is it I can do for you?" Tezuka replied, and Inui held out a sealed envelope.

"This was left to you by Mr. Oishi."

Tezuka tore open the letter, and read it quickly.

'_Your Highness_

_I have to leave for a while. I'll be back in time for the wedding. I've left Arai in charge while I'm gone, don't fret._

_Wish me luck!_

_Your friend,_

_Shuichiro Oishi'_

Tezuka finished the letter, before looking back up at Inui.

"What does he mean, wish him luck?" he asked, his voice turning almost as cold as that of the advisor's. Inui didn't even flinch.

"He's heard from some source of the Lost Princess."

"The lost princess of Satrudolph? But that's just a story, to keep rebellions under control." Tezuka looked down at the advisor. "Where would my head guard hear such a story from such a source that would make him believe it was true?"

Inui shrugged, his mirrored glasses hiding his true feelings as always. Tezuka sighed.

"Why, Inui?" Tezuka questioned, standing from the throne, and stepping down the steps.

"Why not, your highness?" Inui replied, a smile dancing at the side of his lips. Tezuka fought down the urge to slap the insolent man, but knew that would get him nowhere, much like it had with Oishi.

"Fine. Leave me. I need to think about this," he said quietly, and the advisor nodded his head.

"Of course, your highness," the advisor returned, turning away from the prince, and walking out of the room. Tezuka sighed, walking out the door at the other side of the hall.

* * *

"O.k., has everyone got their horses?" Oishi asked, and his three knights shouted their affirmative, holding up their reigns. Oishi smiled, before looking back at his list. "And everyone has their packs and saddlebags?" Again, a yell to the affirmative. Oishi nodded, before turning back to his own grey horse, Moon. He gave the smallish mare a pat on the back, before mounting her. "O.k. Let's go!"

The other three jumped on their horses; Ootori on his black stallion Scud, Taka on his cream gelding, Flame, and Momo on his own mare, a light chestnut named Smash for a reason the others weren't entirely sure of.

"Which way?" asked Taka, nearly causing the other three to fall off their horses.

"Which way do you think?" Momo asked sarcastically, and Taka turned to him.

"If I knew, I wouldn't have asked!" he yelled back, scaring the others at the sudden out burst.

"Well, we need to get to the Rokanan forest," reasoned Ootori, leading Scud ahead. "And there's only two ways to get there. Going along the road that leads through Fudomlin, Yamakibun and Satrudolph wouldn't exactly be the best idea, now would it?"

Taka sniffed, before turning to look back at the road they were starting on.

"Hiyonten. Ootori, where do you suggest we first head to?"

Ootori sighed.

"Taka, I haven't live in Hiyonten since I was ten," he exclaimed, and Taka shrugged.

"I thought that was the whole reason you wanted to come along…" he muttered, and Ootori found an intense fascination with Scud's mane.

"Taka, leave Ootori alone. We don't expect him to lead us through Hiyonten," Oishi said calmly, not taking his eyes off the road ahead. "Besides, I've been to Hiyonten enough to know where to go. We make down this road till we get to the First Inn."

"Wow, what a creative name," said Momo, rolling his eyes. Ootori chuckled, causing Oishi to look back at them.

"It's still another two days journey," he explained, pulling on Moon's reigns to pull him to a stop. "There will be some camping involved."

"Well then it's a good thing Taka bought heeps of food!" yelled Momo, spurring Smash into a gallop.

"Momo," Taka started, shaking his head at his friend. Momo didn't listen as Smash galloped past Oishi and Moon, racing ahead. Ootori turned to Taka.

"Well, this well certainly be an interesting trip," he said with a smile, and Taka nodded.

"No doubt…"

Riding horses along a wide, dirt path isn't as easy as it looks, especially when you're doing it all day, and when you have to ride out of the way of charging carriages in an awful huff. After the third time of this happening, Momo was ready to race after them.

"I swear! Next carriage, and their all going to be fed to my mama's pigs!"

"Momo, you're mother doesn't own pigs," sighed Ootori

"Your mother doesn't even live on a farm!" added Taka.

"She's a dress maker in town…" finished Oishi, causing Momo to sweat drop.

"Thanks for the confidence, guys," he hissed, dropping back on Smash to ride behind the others.

The day wore on, and let's just say Momo's mood didn't get any better. He was cursing everything, from the dirt on his breeches, to the flies on Smash's nose, to his mother's non-existent pigs. Needless to say, the other three were getting slightly annoyed by their companion, but Oishi, Ootori and Taka were used to the over exuberant partner, so they let it be.  
As the sun began to set, Oishi declared that they should make camp on the side of the road, and the others agreed. Taka set about getting food ready, and Oishi sent out Ootori to find water, before taking Momo out to find fire wood.

After not long, Momo and Oishi returned to find Taka chopping a small amount of vegetables, but no Ootori.

"That'd be right," Momo muttered, setting down his firewood. "First night out and he already goes missing."

"He does have a tendency to go missing…" said Taka thoughtfully, looking up from his vegetables as Oishi began to light a fire.

"I'm sure his fine," announced Oishi, taking his matches out of his pack. "We haven't even left Seidonku yet."

The others nodded at this, and Taka instructed Momo to help cut, while Oishi made sure the fire was hot enough. But after waiting too long for Ootori to show, they began to get worried.

"He's not been kidnapped again, has he?" Momo asked, looking into the darkening forest. (1)

"I highly doubt that, Momo," Oishi replied, but he couldn't keep the nervousness from his voice. Before, when they'd gone on missions, Ootori had had a problem with getting lost, and then getting kidnapped. He was too innocent for his own good, as Momo often put it, and it was always up to the others to protect him.

"It probably wasn't the best idea to send him off on his own…" said Taka, looking concerned from his friend.

"I'll go look for him!" Announced Momo, jumping up, and was about to run into the forest when his two companions stopped him.

"We don't want to lose you too," said Oishi, dragging him back to the fireside.

"I'm not about to get lost!" yelled Momo. "I'm way smarter than Ootori!"

"Yeh, and your English is great aswell," muttered Taka, causing Momo to growl at him. Oishi stepped between the two.

"O.k, you two, we have to go find Ootori. But we can't split up, and someone should wait here incase he returns."

"But then what happens if he returns?" Taka asked. "How will the two that go know that he's returned?"

"It doesn't matter!" said Momo, exasperated. "We'll just come back here eventually!"

"But what if you get lost, and then Ootori shows up, and then we have to go looking for you, and then you come back, and then you have to come looking for us, and then we come back and we have go looking for you…"

"TAKA!" yelled Oishi, and both Taka and Momo winced. It wasn't very often that Oishi yelled.

"I'm just saying. That could happen…" Taka muttered, finding his shoes very interesting.

"Momo, let's go. Taka, you finish chopping up the vegetables. If we can't find Ootori, the least we can do is bring back water…"

"We can't do that… Ootori has the bottles," Momo muttered as Oishi walked into the forest.

After walking for a bit, they came across a river. There was no sign of Ootori anywhere, and Oishi was beginning to get worried.

"Momo, you don't think he really was kidnapped, do you?" he asked, kneeling at the edge of the lake.

"Come on, Oishi. There's no one around here to kidnap him."

Just then, there was a rustle in the bushes, and Momo ran behind Oishi.

"Arrrrgh! Kidnappers are going to come kidnap me and use me for my body!" Momo yelled loudly, trying to hide behind Oishi, which didn't work very well, being almost a head taller then him.

"Momo, no one would use you for your body," came Ootori's voice as he stepped out of the bush. Momo sweat dropped, looking at his feet, as Oishi laughed.

"Thanks a lot, Ootori," Momo hissed, stepping out from behind Oishi. "What took you so long?"

A blush formed on Ootori's cheeks. "Well, I was just about to get the water when I had to use the bathroom…"

"There's no bathroom around here," said Momo, looking around, causing Oishi to sweat drop.

"It's a figure of speech, Momo," he explained.

"Oh…"

"Anyway, when I got back, the bottles were gone, and I couldn't remember the way back to the camp, so I tried to look for the bottles."

"Any luck?"

"Nope. It's like they've disappeared!"

Momo groaned. "They couldn't have just disappeared, Ootori."

"I know that. But I can't find them anywhere." Oishi shrugged, and began his walk back to camp.

"Oh well, we'll just have to cook the food in a pot or something," he said, and Momo groaned.

"But Taka's stew always tastes better then eating it raw," he said, and Oishi was about to reply when a groan was heard that wasn't coming from Momo.

"No! More kidnappers!" yelled Momo, hiding this time behind Ootori, who was tall enough to hide him.

"Momo!" Oishi yelled back at him, before stepping towards the groaning sound. Ootori and Momo followed slowly, Momo still hiding behind Ootori.

"Hello?" said Oishi quietly. "Is anyone there?"

"He-hello?" came another voice, from behind a tree. Oishi stepped towards the tree as brown hair began to appear, before a young boy's face appeared. He was dressed in a green tunic, with a silver tree embroided into the front of it; Yamakibun's symbol.

"You're from Yamakibun!" exclaimed Momo, coming out from behind Ootori. The boy winced at the name, but nodded none the less.

"I was sent out to look for the prince. He's left again."

"Again!?" exclaimed Oishi. Everyone knew of the ever escaping prince of Yamakibun. He was a cousin to the actual king, but hated his duties as a relation to the royal family, and constantly ran out of Yamakibun as a result of it.

"Why would they send someone like you to find the prince?" asked Ootori, moving over to stand next to Oishi.

"I'm not by myself!" he exclaimed loudly, as if justifying his king's mistakes. "His majesty's brother was sent, as normal. But I'm one of his knights, so he took me with him."

"So where's king's brother now?" asked Oishi, looking around.

"That's the problem. We got separated in Fudomlin. I knew he was heading for Hiyonten so I headed there aswell."

"You've come all the way from Fudomlin on your own?!" exclaimed Momo, obviously surprised.

"I can take care of myself!" hissed the boy, standing up for himself. "I can hunt, and know what kind of plants are poisonous..." he looked at the ground. "The only problem has been water..."

"You took the bottles!" exclaimed Ootori, and the boy nodded.

"I know I shouldn't of, but I was quick to learn that outside of towns, rivers are far apart," he said, not looking up at the taller boys in front of him. Oishi turned to his two companions.

"Let's take him with us," he said, ignoring the gasp behind him, and focusing on the shocked looks in front of him.

"But... we can't take him all the way to the Rokanan forest!" Momo said, and Oishi shook his head.

"We won't. But he needs to get to Hiyonten, and we're going through Hiyonten. Look at him, he can barely move!"

Ootori looked past Oishi at the boy, who was gazing up at them with a surprised expression on his face.

"You're going to the Rokanan forest?!" he asked, an amazed tone in his voice. Oishi turned around, and nodded.

"We're looking for the lost princess," he informed the boy, and the boy gasped.

"I thought that was just a story!" he said softly, causing Oishi to smile.

"So did we. But our king's in trouble, and this is the only way past it."

The boy looked at his feet. "This is because of Satrudolph, isn't it," the boy whispered, and Oishi looked at him.

"Yes, it is, but why do you ask?" he asked, and boy looked up at him.

"That's why Prince Jin ran away again. He doesn't like the fact that the king offered help to Satrudolph instead of Seidonku," the boy explained, and Oishi looked surprised. This was getting interesting.

"Would you like to come with us?" he asked, and the boy nodded swiftly.

"But I don't have a horse!" he exclaimed, and Oishi smiled.

"You're small enough that you could ride on the back of one of our horses," he explained, and the boy nodded.

"Ok," the boy said, before turning to look at Momo and Ootori. "My name's Dan Taichi. What are your names?"

"Takeshi Momoshiro," informed Momo. "But everyone calls me Momo."

"Choutarou Ootori," said Ootori. "And you can call me whatever you want."

"Shuichiro Oishi," finished Oishi. "And same goes for me."

"Thank you all, Mr. Oishi, Mr. Ootori, Mr. Momo," he said, bowing, causing the other three to sweat drop.

"Come on," said Oishi, turning back to the other two. "Taka will be wondering where the hell we got to."

"There's more of you?!" Dan asked, and Oishi shrugged.

"Just Takashi Kawamura, but call him Taka. He hates being called anything but," Oishi explained, and Dan nodded entusiasically, before handing over the bottles to Ootori.

"Here! I already filled the bottles! I'll carry them!" he yelled, running in the opposite direction.

"Dan!" Oishi yelled, and the boy turned around. "Camp's this way," he said, pointing, and Dan's eye's widened.

"Sorry!" he yelled, running the way Oishi had pointed, dropping water bottles on the way. Ootori began to follow, picking up water bottles on the way.

"You sure this is the right thing?" Momo asked, as he and Oishi followed behind Ootori.

"I don't know," replied Oishi. "But I can't just leave him out here. Doesn't he remind you of someone?"

They both looked in front of them at the oblivious silver haired knight, bending over to pick up another bottle.

"You're right," Momo replied. "He is a lot like Ootori."

* * *

Tezuka stepped into his study, to find King Tachibana in there once again. The man had been making constant visits to him since the deal had been made, often times coming up with strategies against Yamakibun and Satrudolph. But something about the look on Tachibana's face made Tezuka think this was something different entirely.

"You're Majesty," Tezuka said, offering his guest a seat. "How can I help you?"

Tachibana took the seat he had been offered, as Tezuka sat in his normal seat.

"Two of my personal guard have gone missing. I was wondering if you'd heard of two Fudomlin knights in your kingdom."

Tezuka shook his head, remembering his own missing knights. He wondered if he should mention them to Tachibana, though wasn't sure of what he'd tell him. He didn't want Tachibana to think he was trying to back out of their agreement. Besides, Fudomlin's missing guards probably had nothing to do with Tezuka's.

"Would you like to help search for them?" he asked politely, but Tachibana shook his head.

"No thank you, that won't be required," he replied. "But if you do hear of them in Seidonku, send word, won't you?" he asked, standing. Tezuka followed suit, nodding his head as he held out a hand, Tachibana grasping it in a shake.

"I'll be back next week at the normal time," he informed him, before exiting the room with a swift flick of his cloak. Tezuka shut the door behind him. What was he getting himself into?

* * *

AN

1: Lol I don't know why I added this, but if you want to understand, go read Link and Luigi's Remote and Remote 2: Re run. The second isn't finished, and it was Shishido who kept getting kidnapped, not Choutarou, but I wanted to add it. And Shishido's not in this story... yet. So you'll just have to wait.

Ootori: Why do I have to wait so long till Shishido joins the story?

Ella: You're the one whose avoiding him, remember?!

Ootori: I am in the story, sure. And you're giving away the plot to the readers, shoosh!

Ella: Whoops! I forgot. Ignore that. Sorry, Choutarou.

Ootori: That's ok. I'll wait.

Anyway, reviews are loved! The more I get reviewed, the more I want to write!


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